Liquid gold

Cohen is three months old today! He is doing great, doing all the usual baby things, mostly eating. Joel says he has his appetite, but I think he gets his insatiable hunger from the both of us. I have talked Joel and the doctor into letting me weigh Cohen on a weekly basis. This past weekend weigh-in put him at 7 lbs, 8 oz. Growin Cohen is also getting a lot stronger, showing more head control and even starting to arch his back. He is also responding more to our voices, which is really neat to watch.

Last week Nancy and Neal came to hang out with us for a few days. They got some quality time in with Cohen, even getting in on some early morning bottle feedings, which I know Joel appreciated. My parents have also been able to spend some time with Cohen lately. My dad and Christy came up this past weekend, while my mom usually comes every other Tuesday to hang out. My good friends Corena and Brian also visited this weekend.

We love having visitors, especially because we don't really take Cohen too many places in hopes we can keep him from getting sick. We have been waiting for the insurance company to approve Synagis for Cohen, a vaccine for RSV (our doc has referred to it as liquid gold). RSV, a common virus during cold and flu season, usually presents as a cold in healthy infants and adults, but for preemies it can be a much bigger deal. Several doctors have told us that if Cohen were to get RSV he would most likely end up back in the hospital. So we are being very vigilant about following doctors orders to protect Cohen from getting sick. So, no letting sick people near the baby, avoiding kids and even passive smoke. Unfortunately, this also means avoiding big crowds, which means that we won't be attending the many Thanksgiving get-togethers we normally do. This has been really tough for me to accept, because I want to share him and show him off to everyone. All in good time I know.

Since we're not going anywhere for Thanksgiving, we thought it would be fun to cook a bird here at home. I've never done this before and am excited to give it a go. Wish me luck:^)

I hope this update finds everyone happy and healthy. Happy Thanksgiving and Good Eats!

Estimated time of arrival

Today was Cohen’s estimated due date or as I sometimes refer to it, his estimated time of arrival. Joel keeps telling me the medical verbage is called estimated date of confinement (edc). I asked why confinement, and he guessed that it was because once baby comes the parents are confined to the house. Either way, it's crazy to think that I would have been 40 weeks pregnant this week.

Yesterday, we went back to the pediatrician for another weight check. He is up to 6 lbs, 8oz. Wow! That’s 13 ounces in 12 days (the doctors like to see growth of half an ounce to an ounce per day). Go Team Cohen! Needless to say the doctor was happy and we don’t have to go back until his four month well check.

Cohen’s growth was no surprise to me as evidenced by his now super-sized hands. The other day Joel and I had both noticed how big they had gotten seemingly overnight. I joked with the doctor that all 13 ounces went to his hands and he recommended that we get him a piano. I was thinking basketball but of course Cohen should have some say in this. He has also outgrown his ‘preemie’ sized clothing. Looking at those little outfits, it’s hard to believe he was ever that small, let alone a 2-lber at birth.

Cohen is now in the midst of a growth spurt and his abundant weight gain confirmed this theory. Now that Cohen is bigger and has the okay from the doctor to go more than three hours between eating, he wants to eat about every hour and a half, at least the past few days anyways. I was waiting for him to become more demanding about eating and my wish has come true (times ten). Thankfully, the increased feedings happen mostly during the day!

Now that we've reached his due date we will look to his corrected age for developmental milestones. His corrected age or adjusted age is based on the expected due date. It's calculated by subtracting the number of weeks he was born early from his chronological age. So, since Cohen was born 12 weeks early and he will be 12 weeks old on Saturday, he'll be zero weeks corrected this week. I know, sounds funny right? I guess that means it will be his 'Corrected Birthday' on Saturday. Hmmm, maybe we should celebrate with cake...and ice cream. Anyway, in four weeks, he'll be four weeks corrected age. So this means that hopefully Cohen will be smiling at us by Christmas!!! (when he's 6 weeks corrected age). Sounds like a Merry Christmas to me:^)

Scrubbed In

Joel, Cohen, and I spent Halloween night handing out candy and watching one of my favorite '80s movies, Silver Bullet. Cohen was a doctor for Halloween.

This past week has been busy for me. I've been writing papers, studying for quizzes and caring for Cohen. Joel has been working hard too. He started his pediatric rotation last week and has been working 12 hour days. Cohen had another doctors appointment to check weight last thursday. He was up four ounces in seven days, so the doctor was content. Each time we go to the doctor and "pass" the weight test we buy more time between doctors visits. So the next time we go will be next week which will be 11 days since our last visit.

It's been so nice out this past week that we were able to take Cohen outside!!! We went for a walk and had a chance to try out the new stroller. It is awesome! Thank you Len & Sammy! We can't wait to take it off road in the future.

Also, I am starting the process of trying to find a nanny/babysitter for next semester while I'm in class. I would like to keep Cohen out of daycare until spring time when flu/RSV season is over and this seems to be the answer. Feel free to contact me if you know anyone who may be interested. We are an equal opportunity employer:^)

Oh yeah, I've been so excited for election day and it's finally here. Voting always feels so good! The night isn't over yet, but it looks like things are headed in a new direction. YAY!!!